The crisis of Tunisian doctors practising the profession in Libya has reportedly ended. Over the past few months, Tunisian doctors were working without a legislative framework, in light of their lack of the right to insurance.
The General Syndicate of Doctors in Libya and the Deanship of Physicians in Tunisia signed an agreement stipulating the requirement for Tunisian doctors to obtain a license to practice medicine in Libya.
The agreement stipulates that every doctor who wishes to work in Libya must contact the Tunisian Medical Syndicate, to request this license. The Libyan Syndicate is then contacted, informing it of the request.
In press statements to Tunis Afrique Presse, the Head of the Tunisian Deanship, Reda Al-Dhaoui said that “all licenses granted to practice medical professions will be limited to practice periods for months.” He indicated that the council reached an understanding to form a joint committee with the health department of the Libyan Embassy, to follow up on the quality of treatment for Libyan patients in Tunisia.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday, in the presence of the President of the General Syndicate of Physicians of Libya, Mohamed Ali Al-Ghouj, the Chargé d’Affairs of the Libyan Embassy in Tunisia, Mustafa Kadara, and the Director of the Support and Development of Health and Treatment Services, Ahmed Salem Ahmed.
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December 2021, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, who is leading the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.
